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Shomer Newsletter #6

So that Law Enforcement Officers of the Jewish faith may join together for the Welfare of all

April 2014 – October 2014 Issue (Volume 6)

The SHOMER is published by the Shomrim Society of Northern California (NorCal Shomrim) for members of the Law Enforcement, Public Safety and Administration of Justice Community

In This Edition of SHOMER:

Message from Jerome Cobert, President of NorCal Shomrim

NorCal Shomrim shows support for Israel

NorCal Shomrim spearheads fundraising for Kiev Shomrim

NorCal Shomrim Bowling at Presidio

NorCal Shomrim Participates in Simcha Sunday in Sonoma County

3rd NorCal Shomrim Family and Friends Range Day

Election of a new Board Members (Start thinking about nominations)

Upcoming events

President’s Message

Dear Fellow Shomrim Members,

Golda Meir, the Great Iron Leader once said, "I never did anything alone. Whatever was accomplished in this country was accomplished collectively."

Whether we are talking about family, work, sports or even Shomrim, this statement seems to be true. As a Shomrim chapter we have accomplished many things, the most important, expanding our family, our mishpokah. Together we have helped one another reach both individual and group potential through social events, scholarship awards, trainings and even observance. We have collectively strengthened one another.

A great and recent example of both collective achievement and strength to strength started with the vision of our very own Sergeant at Arms, Vadim Rotberg. Not only did he connect us with the Shomrim of Kiev, but Vadim spearheaded a project to raise $3,000 collectively with other Shomrim Chapters across the United States to help Kiev purchase protective equipment. "May you go from strength to strength - ???? ?? ???."

Keeping in mind what Golda Meir said, this Fall my eighteen-year-old son Levi, my older brother Nathan and I will travel to Israel to volunteer in the Sar El Program. The program originated in the summer of 1982, in the midst of the Galilee War, as Golan Heights communities faced the disastrous prospect of losing their entire agricultural crop. The majority of able-bodied farmers were called up for army reserve duty and entire farms, with crops already ripened, were left unattended due to the acute manpower shortage. Dr. Aharon David, the former head of the I.D.F. Paratroopers and Infantry Corps, was then directing the Golan Heights community and cultural activities.

Touched by the communities’ distress, Dr. David sent a number of friends as a recruitment team to the United States. Within a few weeks, some 650 volunteers arrived in Israel to lend their support through volunteer labor. Realizing the merits of that action, those first volunteers expressed the wish that the volunteer project be perpetuated.

As a result, in the Spring of 1983, “Sar-El” – The National Project for Volunteers for Israel – was founded as a non-profit, non-political organization (“Sar-El” is the Hebrew acronym meaning “Service for Israel”).

This Rosh Hashanah, (Hebrew year 5775), as our New Year begins with the symbolic sweetness of apples and honey, please think about how you can work collectively with your friends and family to help build positive relationships and community.

B’shalom,

Jerome Cobert
President, Norcal Shomrim

Showing Support for Israel

Throughout the recent Israel-Gaza war, Shomrim members have demonstrated their vocal support for Israel’s right to protect its citizens. Shomrim members attended several public events in support of Israel and have proudly represented Jewish Law Enforcement Community in Northern California.

NorCal Shomrim Spearheads Fundraising for Kiev Shomrim

We are extremely proud to share with you that, due to the efforts of Shomrim throughout the United States, we have collectively raised $3,000 for our brethren in Kiev, Ukraine. As you know the situation there has been highly precarious, with the Jewish community becoming targets for violence, largely in the absence of a viable police force.

Shomrim Goes Bowling

On June 8, several members, including three of our newest members, of NorCal Shomrim and their guests went bowling at Presidio. The conversations continued long after the last pins dropped at Mels Diner, over burgers and shakes. Below is not a photo from the event, since everyone was too involved in conversation to take any J

Simcha Sunday in Sonoma County

On June 22, NorCal Shomrim members served as Guest Relations representatives at the Sonoma County Jewish Community Festival in Santa Rosa. This is the second year that Shomrim has volunteered to support this event and we continue to have positive interactions with our Jewish community.

Shomrim Members Attend a Soccer Game

On July 27, several Shomrim members enjoyed attending an international soccer game at the Candlestick Park, one of the last chances to say goodbye to the “’Stick.” Our local Earthquakes took on Atletico Madrid in a fun game that ended with penalties.

We will continue to plan social outings with fellow Shomers. If you know of an event that might be of interest, please let us know.

From the Desk of Eric Thomson, NorCal Shomrim Secretary

We have recently made changes to our website. The new site is specifically designed to be used by non-profits and associations like ours. It gives us great event planning tools, streamlined membership processing and record keeping.

To start, please go to our “new” website- same address: www.norcalshomrim.org and log in to see what’s going on. We have a new database so you will need to log in and update your information.

WEBSITE LOG IN: Enter your first name letter and last name: (jsmith) and the password that was sent to the email we had on file for you back in June. You can try hitting “forgot my password button” if you can’t find that email. Show up to the next meeting and we will help you log in!

Book Review

As part of our standard feature, we review a book or a film that might be of interest to our members:

In this edition we recommend a book authored by a working officer, Dan Silver, with whom, I, the editor, have had the pleasure of working. His fictional character, Dougie Cohen, happens to be half-Jewish. Dan’s writing is full of humor and cultural references we will all appreciate.

From Amazon.com: “Author and law enforcement officer Daniel Silver tells the story of a tattooed punk rocker turned rookie San Francisco policeman, Dougie Cohen. In his first year on the job, the stresses, horrors and frustrations Dougie encounters take their toll on his patience, health, sanity and love life. Dougie struggles with night terrors, addiction, disease and the loss of his former self to his new police persona. Dougie is on a collision course with the reality of urban law enforcement. He'll either break, or accept the fundamentals of what it means to be a real cop. Winner of the 2010 COP TALES Contest!

Membership in our chapter is open to all people of the Jewish faith currently employed by or honorably retired from any Federal, State or Local governmental law enforcement agency. This includes sworn peace officers, retired or reserve, officers of the District Attorney, California Highway Patrol employees, Correctional employees, County Probation employees, State Parole employees and State and Federal Park Rangers, Arson Investigators, and all state law enforcement employees who reside in Northern California. For purposes of this organization, the Northern California area is defined as the area north of San Luis Obispo County.

Membership Dues

Annual Dues are $36.00, but we prefer the equivalent to one hour at your overtime rate!

NorCal Shomrim is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization led by a group of dedicated volunteers. Our mission statement is to unite people of the Jewish faith in the field of law enforcement, promote friendship and encourage the religious spirit of the members and their families while working towards the welfare of all.

To meet these goals, we rely on membership dues and the generous tax-deductible donations that we receive from the community. Together, we work for the betterment of our society. Your donation helps us make all of this possible.

“Tzedakah” literally means righteousness, but it is often interpreted as charity, because Judaism views giving as the ultimate act of righteousness.

Whether it is teaching a skill, donating goods, or giving money, tzedakah is an integral part of living a Jewish life and is in fact required of all Jews.The Hebrew word for "alive" is (chai), which has a numerical value of 18. Consequently, the custom has arisen in Jewish circles to give donations and monetary gifts in multiples of 18 as an expression of blessing for long life. 18, 36, 54, 72, 90,108, etc. Ten times Chai is 180 and double that is 360.

Thank you for supporting us with your dues! They are vital to us and keep our organization going